STEPHEN Ward has revealed he still finds it “surreal” that Wolves will be playing the likes of Manchester United next season.

The Irish utility man admits it is a dream come true for him and his young team-mates.

“I think it’s got us thinking about the new season,” said Ward.

“It was kind of surreal – I woke up to a couple of texts from “Kights” (Michael Kightly) and (Andy) Keogh saying we’d got West Ham at home in the first game of the season.

“That’s when it really hit home that we’re a Premier League side because even when we won the league, it didn’t really sink in at the time.”

Ward admits he would not want to be in Blues’ shoes, facing a tough opener against Manchester United on the first day of the season.

“Probably the worst thing would be to face one of the so-called ‘big four’ on the first day because that could have set us back,” he said.

“So it’s a positive run of fixtures at the start for us and I’m sure the manager will look at that and want us to pick up as many points as possible in the early stages to give us the confidence to push on.”

Ward continued: “As a footballer it’s just great to be playing these games and it shows what a long way we’ve come.

“It’s been a couple of years since we played West Brom so it’s unfortunate they went down but Villa are the next best thing next season and I’m sure the fans will be looking forward to it, as the players will.

“Villa are regarded as the biggest club in the Midlands and it’s credit to that there are four clubs from the region in the Premier League. I’m sure the games will be very interesting.”